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A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Distance Learning Brings Education to
Students

By Catherine Doss

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 29 - April 23, 1998

(Editor's Note: This article about Virginia Tech's distance and distributed
learning is part six in a series about outreach at the university. Future
articles will highlight Public Service Programs and Extension.)
Times are changing rapidly for the traditional model of delivering
higher-education courses. An increasing number of learners want their
educational programs to be offered in times and places that meet their needs
and fit into their busy life styles.
"In the past, if a student wanted an education, he or she went to a
residential, commuter, or extended campus, and courses were typically delivered
on a fixed, rigid schedule," said Tom Wilkinson, director of Distributed
Learning Systems. "But all that is changing now. Higher education is becoming
much more customer-oriented with respect to meeting the accessibility needs of
students."
Part of Wilkinson's role when he was brought on board at Virginia Tech last
fall was to help coordinate the various distance- and distributed-learning
efforts that were taking place across the university. He has a dual appointment
with both the Outreach Division and Instructional Services in Information
Systems.
Nationally, trends show distance-education students are older than the typical
on-campus college student. Many have professional and family obligations. And
most of them are either seeking an educational degree to help them transition
to a new career, or they are interested in upgrading their skills, often
through employer-sponsored professional-development opportunities. Offering
educational programs that meet these needs is a growing niche for colleges and
universities.
"There are tremendous opportunities out there for Virginia Tech to be a
world-class leader in any-time/any-place education," Wilkinson said. He cited
the university's greatest strength as the expertise and creativity of its
faculty. The Cyberschool and the creation of the world's first on-line master's
degree in health and physical education are just some of the examples of what
faculty members have done to make Virginia Tech education more accessible.
Other university strengths include information and instructional-technology
initiatives such as the Faculty Development Institute (FDI), Net.Work.Virginia,
and the newly acquired wireless spectrum, as well as the superior name
recognition of the university's programs and services.
"As a land-grant university, it is incumbent upon us to extend our programs
off campus," Wilkinson said. "Distance and distributed learning is a perfect
example of carrying out the university's outreach mission."
The growing popularity and demand for distance education is evidenced by its
rapid development at Virginia Tech. Seventeen two-way interactive-video courses
were offered this semester. That's up from six in the fall and two the previous
fall. In addition, 12 graduate engineering and MBA courses currently offered
each semester at selected sites state-wide via satellite will be moving to
delivery over Net.Work.Virginia in the fall.
Virginia Tech was a leader in the development of this network, which uses
broadband-asynchronous-transfer-mode (ATM) technology, to provide universal
access to advanced digital-communications services across the state. Switching
to the ATM format will allow two-way voice, video, and data interaction not
possible through satellite programming. Wilkinson estimated the university will
deliver nearly 75 different two-way interactive distance-learning courses next
year.
This summer, the university will offer more than 20 on-line web-based courses
enabling students to attend summer school from virtually anywhere in the
world.
As technology evolves, so do the possibilities for providing increased and
easier access to courses and programs. Video streaming is one of the newer
educational-delivery technologies the university is exploring. This technology
allows live classroom lectures to be viewed over the Internet on a personal
computer.
. "We are only limited by what we want to do," Wilkinson said. "Virginia Tech
has a lot to offer students in the distance-education arena. If we don't take
advantage of the opportunities that are out there, others will."
A proposal to create a university-wide distance-learning institute is
currently under discussion. The proposed institute would serve as an
"organizational network" to support the various distance-education initiatives
under way throughout the university and as a resource for colleges and faculty
members as they develop and deliver programming.
"Distance education should be viewed from a holistic approach," Wilkinson
said. "This is not just courses delivered from one point to another through a
certain means of technology. It encompasses all aspects of the teaching and
learning experience from registration to student services to learning
environments."
Wilkinson said appropriate and adequate support services were critical to the
success of any distance learning effort and were part of the value-added
component of an excellent program. "The goal of distance and distributed
learning is to extend the traditional university campus to a whole new market
of life-long learners," Wilkinson said. "We are bringing education to the
people. This is part of our mission as a land-grant university."